October 2006

Fall is finally here with some cooler temps, but also shorter daylight hours. It doesn't seem possible Halloween is just a few weeks away, then Thanksgiving and Christmas to quickly follow. Another year will be gone before we know it. That fact is brought home more each day as ARCs arrive for next year, and I am writing 2007 with increased frequency. The old laments seem truer than ever for me: "Where does the time go?" and "The older I get, the faster the time goes by."

Another category bites the dust with Harlequin's plan to discontinue the Silhouette Bombshell line in January 2007. The fact that this line has not been a strong performer since its inception, even though romantic suspense is a popular genre, obviously led to its demise. Here's hoping that Bombshell authors are able to find a new home for their writing.

That being said, we have news that another line will be starting in spring 2007. Daisy Maryles, of Publishers Weekly, reported September 20, 2006, that HarperCollins will be starting a new inspirational women's trade paper fiction line under the heading of Avon Inspire, with the first books set to be published in spring 2007. Avon Inspire plans to publish 10 titles annually and will include both historical and contemporary romances. The first book, scheduled for May 2007, is DEFIANT HEART by Tracey Bateman and will be the first title in the Westward Hearts series. The June 2007 title is WEDDING BELL BLUES by Linda Windsor, which begins the Piper Cove Chronicles.

This month, the paperback edition of Kasey Michaels' fourth Maggie Kelly mystery, HIGH HEELS AND HOMICIDE, will be released by Kensington. Then in November 2006, the fifth installment, HIGH HEELS AND HOLIDAYS (Kensington) goes on sale in trade paper format. This new story finds mystery author Maggie Kelly preparing to celebrate her first Christmas with Alexandre, Viscount Saint Just (her fictional Regency-era creation come-to-life as her sexy, protective suitor) when death threats and then murder mess up the holiday. This new addition promises to be as much fun as the other four.

The fourth Mageverse novel by Angela Knight, MASTER OF SWORDS, has just arrived in bookstores. And fans of this series will be delighted to know that Angela is hard at work on the fifth Mageverse book, MASTER OF DRAGONS, which is set for release sometime in 2007. It will involve Nineva Morrow, a half-breed Sidhe princess living in hiding from a vicious Sidhe who wants her dead. Kel, the shapeshifting dragon warrior, is sent to protect her. Good news for those of you who've been longing for a story centered on the fascinating Kel.

In November 2006, Sharon Sala will have a new romantic suspense release from Mira. NINE LIVES features Dallas bounty hunter Cat Dupree. As she searches for a friend who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, she's assisted by a fellow bounty hunter, the sexy Wilson McKay. Sparks fly not only between them, but from the danger they encounter in their search.

Hairdresser-turned-investigative journalist Bubbles Yablonsky is set to return November 7, 2006, when she looks into a death in the beauty parlor in BUBBLES ALL THE WAY (Onyx) by Sarah Stohmeyer. And fans of this entertaining series are desperate to find out if Bubbles and Stiletto get back together. Or has Dan made sure that won't happen? I can't wait to find out!

Also on sale November 7, 2006, is the next installment in P. B. Ryan's historical mystery series, MURDER IN THE NORTH END (Berkley Prime Crime), featuring governess Nell Sweeney. When one of Boston's finest cops is suspected of killing a petty criminal, Nell goes to the seedy and dangerous North End to prove his innocence. But her employer won't let her conduct the investigation alone.

Stevi Mittman continues her Life on Long Island Can be Murder series (featuring reluctant sleuth Teddi Bayer) with WHY IS MURDER ON THE MENU, ANYWAY? This third installment, following WHO MAKES UP THESE RULES, ANYWAY? (2/06) and WHAT GOES WITH BLOOD RED, ANYWAY? (8/06), will go on sale in January 2007 from Harlequin Next. Stevi says she thoroughly enjoyed writing eight romance novels under her given name, Stephanie. Then her writing started to take a new direction, and a series of funny mysteries set in suburbia was born. She likes to think of them as Desperate Housewives meets Jessica Fletcher.

Dee Henderson's new publisher, Tyndale House, has repackaged and re-released the first seven novels of her highly popular O'Malley series, starting with the series prequel, DANGER IN THE SHADOWS. The six books to follow will be THE NEGOTIATOR, THE GUARDIAN, THE TRUTH SEEKER, THE PROTECTOR, THE HEALER and THE RESCUER. Then watch for a brand new story, titled BEFORE I WAKE, set to be released this month. This award-winning author's faith-based stories skillfully blend suspense, family values and wholesome romance without using graphic violence and sex.

Cindy Gerard moves her next book to the steamy locale of a country rife with political turmoil and civil unrest. UNDER THE WIRE (St. Martin's), the fifth book in Cindy's very popular Bodyguard series, is scheduled to go on sale November 28, 2006. Lily never realized what she'd done to Manny when she walked away from him in the sultry Nicaragua jungle. Now, 17 years later, she's begging for his help, even if he can't forgive her.

Karen Robards takes a break from her contemporary romantic suspense novels to give readers the last (and long-awaited!) installment in her Regency-set Banning sisters trilogy. In SHAMELESS (Pocket mass market, on sale December 26, 2006), Elizabeth Banning has broken three engagements in her search for true love. Her most recently jilted fiancé vows revenge and devises a scheme to ruin her reputation. But his plot is foiled and the original plan gets all turned around. Soon Beth finds herself risking everything to win the one man who doesn't want her. Previous books include the romantic tales of Gabby in SCANDALOUS (Pocket, 3/01) and Claire in IRRESISTIBLE (Pocket, 9/02).

Julianne MacLean wrote to tell me that her next book, SURRENDER TO A SCOUNDREL, the final book in her American Heiress series, is coming out in January 2007. After that, she'll be starting a new series set at a palace in London during the Victorian period. She had the name of the palace and series picked out, but then learned that another author had also picked the very same name for her new series. Julianne is now racking her brain to come up with a romantic and regal name for the palace and is asking readers for help by running a contest on her web site -- deadline is October 25, 2006.

The nerds return to a bookstore near you in January 2007 when MY NERDY VALENTINE (St. Martin's) by Vicki Lewis Thompson hits the shelves. This time a nerd acts as a decoy boyfriend to uncover the culprit behind sinister Valentine cards being sent to the girl of his dreams. With this fake relationship masking some very real lust, can love be far behind once he deals with the stalker?

In the back of the mass market edition (August 2006) of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' MATCH ME IF YOU CAN is an excerpt from her upcoming new hardcover NATURAL BORN CHARMER (on sale February 6, 2007). The hero of this new book, Dean Robillard, had a small role in MATCH ME IF YOU CAN. And yes, he's another Chicago Stars quarterback.

In January 2007, Victoria Alexander will start a new Regency-set series from Avon with A LITTLE BIT WICKED, followed in February 2007 with WHAT A LADY WANTS. As her website describes, "In 1854 London, four friends, all seriously opposed to marriage, form a tontine investing one shilling each and a bottle of cognac. The winner is the last man to marry." For those of you who don't know, a tontine is "A system of annuities in which the benefits pass to the surviving subscribers until only one is left." And, yes, I had to Google that term up to make sure I understood it correctly.

In January, NAL will publish a trade-size edition containing two previous works by Mary Jo Putney. The new book, titled DANGEROUS TO KNOW, will include Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know (a novella in RAKES AND ROGUES from 6/93) and THE DIABOLICAL BARON (Onyx, 11/87), Mary Jo's first book and a collector's item.

Kelley Armstrong says it's now official -- Book 7 in her Otherworld series will be issued in hardcover format in May 2007. Tentatively titled NO HUMANS INVOLVED, it's narrated by Jamie Vegas, Zoe's friend mentioned in BROKEN (Spectra, 5/06) whose special talent is raising the dead. While working on a TV special, Jamie is plagued by ghostly happenings that are even weirder than she's usually accustomed to. Investigating the mysterious manifestations, Jamie finds she'll need as much Otherworld help as she can get, including from Jeremy, the werewolf, who's always by her side offering protection.

The Rogues World book that Jo Beverley is writing has been moved up from September 2007 to a June 2007 release date. This Rogue book is about Dare's sister, Lady Theodosia, and a certain Lord Darien. Darien, previously known as Horatio Cave, was at Harrow at the same time as the Rogues, but a year younger.

Fans of the unique and gripping paranormal Crimson City series take heed: in January 2007, Love Spell will release a new anthology, SHARDS OF CRIMSON (featuring novellas by original Crimson City authors Liz Maverick, Patti O'Shea, Carolyn Jewel and Jade Lee), which will be a continuation of the Crimson City series. The stories in this anthology will revisit some of the major secondary characters from the original Crimson City books.

When I contacted Brianna Yamashita, Manager of Public Relations for Dorchester, about the Crimson anthology, I asked her if they had anything similar coming in 2007. She told me, "We do have some exciting new things coming up next summer, including our Immortals series, a 4-book paranormal series that's similar in some ways to Crimson City. As we get closer to that time, I'll definitely be sending you more on this." Now, we just have to wait and see what they have in store. And you'll hear it from me as soon as I know. Just another reason to...

Stay tuned...
Tanzey